WeView Verdict: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

Ghibli your vote.

Kris Lipscombe, 4 years ago, 18 comments.

It’s good to know that WeView still has some fans out there. After the rather low turn out for DmC, it was nice to see a much healthier reception for Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, both in terms of participants and overall reception of the title.

Perhaps it’s the Studio Ghibli involvement that garnered Ni no Kuni such a positive reaction; it’s certainly an element that many commented on when posting their thoughts on the title. Among them was Nylon_Angel, who felt that that it was “like being in one of Studio Ghibli’s films.” So strong is the animation house’s influence that they went on to say that “If I didn’t know they had done it, it would haven’t have even taken me five minutes to work it out.”

yd went for simple praise of Ghibli’s work, saying that “It looks and sounds great, just as anything involving Studio Ghibli should.” They did, however, say that the game has “a fairly typical Ghibli story”, a sentiment shared by hazelam. That’s not necessarily bad though, with yd describing it as “a bit odd, fairly simple and straightforward”.

Of course this isn’t a Ghibli movie, and we should take a look at the element that Level 5 worked on – the gameplay. salvodaze felt that the gameplay had a very Dragon Quest feel to it, but with major change. That change comes in the form of the combat, which they felt “eliminate[s] all the unnecessary/frustrating elements (such as waiting on button presses) of most JRPGs.” These changes meant that so far they haven’t been “bored for a second,” something it can be hard for large games to accomplish.

KeRaSh didn’t agree with salvodaze’s assessment though, feeling that “the gameplay is nothing exceptional” and that there were combat elements they would have changed had they been in charge. They didn’t entirely slam the gameplay though, saying that “it’s good enough not to become a bother after the first few hours,” so at least that’s something.

While KeRaSh may have found the gameplay unexceptional but adequate, Taylor Made and Eldave0 went far further down the negative path. Although Taylor Made “liked this game for 5 minutes,” they found it quickly “became repetitive, everytime you walk you fighting something.” Eldave0 simply complained that the gameplay was “dull”, although they were also put off by “The childish vibe of the whole experience,” something that perhaps shouldn’t have been surprising for a game with involvement from Studio Ghibli.

Lets finish on a high note though, and look at what Kennykazey had to say. It’s safe to say that they absolutely loved the game:

It’s made by Level 5, designs and cutscenes are done by none other than the amazing Studio Ghibli and it’s some of the best music in gaming by Joe Hisaishi. It shows Final Fantasy how it’s done, and it’s as close as you’ll get to a proper 3D Pokemon game with real time battles.

Now it’s time to move onto the verdict. While there was one vote cast for Rent It and two for Avoid It, it’s clear that Buy It is the community’s overall verdict for the game, picking eleven votes. So there you have it, go and grab Studio Ghibli and Level 5’s collaboration, particularly if you’re into JRPGs.

As always, we close on this week’s poll. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword won last week’s poll, so that’s what we’ll be looking at in tomorrow’s WeView. Sadly NBA 2K13 didn’t make the cut last week, so it’s dropping off the bottom of the poll. Replacing them are Dante’s Inferno and Tekken Tag Tournament 2. You’ve got until the end of Sunday to get your vote in, so don’t forget!

My comments about it being a fairly typical Ghibli story and being simple and straightforward (with a bit of odd) wasn’t in any way intended as a criticism of it. Quite the opposite. It’s what makes it so good.

A simple story even small children can follow is a good thing. As long as it’s done well. Most of what Studio Ghibli have ever done would suffer from big complicated plots getting in the way of everything else that makes children (of all ages) enjoy it.

Simple, well made films that don’t patronise small children or adults. (Except in the case of Grave of the Fireflies, which I wouldn’t recommend for small children, or adults who are ashamed of having a good cry at a cartoon)

Feels nice to be mentioned, TSA, thanks. But I gotta clear up one thing, the part about level 5 removing unnecessary/frustrating elements is actually about the whole gameplay, not the combat. I have played my share of JRPGs and after a while you really don’t want to wait for the pointless text animation to complete (even if accelerated) before you can move on to the 25th townsperson you want to talk to in a town. Level 5 took a working franchise like Dragon Quest and reshaped the gameplay to fit Ghibli’s story/storytelling in the most appealing way. This led to very subtle changes/fixes like that and they really make a difference in my experience. It helps it become the JRPG of an era.

It’s probably because it’s not always clear if a person is male or female just from looking at the nickname.
It’s also funny that the only negative part of my opinion was used for the article but all my praise for the game was ignored. Now everyone thinks I didn’t like the game! ^^

Currently 40 hours in this game and loving it. So much to do and the graphics are actually amazing. And here’s me thinking he’d never like a JRPG. Persona 4 has been recomended to me so that is next :D

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